Over-regulating government true monster

Picture a trio of adorably outfitted trick-or-treaters — a ghost, a pirate and a witch of the non-Senate candidate variety — venturing forth into the night in search of sweet, sweet candy.

Under the eerie glow of an autumn moon, they approach a spooky old house. The pirate reaches out a trembling hand to knock on the front door.

The door creaks open slowly, revealing a nightmarish creature — twice the size of a normal man, with scarred, greenish skin crisscrossed by stitches and metal bolts protruding from its neck.

Paralyzed with fear, the trick-or-treaters watch as the horrific vision standing before them opens its mouth and speaks in a voice that is low, guttural and as cold as the grave:

“What are you guys doing here? Halloween’s not until tomorrow.”

Thanks to the quirks of the Gregorian calendar, a particular date can fall on any given day of the week. When the 31st of October falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, things can get particularly quirky.

Halloween’s roots in paganism, and the occult references sometimes associated with it, make certain folks a little uncomfortable. Even for those willing to put aside their reservations in most cases, a year when Halloween coincides with Sunday represents a line they don’t like crossing. From this internal conflict arises a measure of public sentiment that favors celebrating Halloween on Saturday instead.

You can hear the dialogue played out in coffee shops around the country. Some people who seem to feel their Christian faith is under actual assault, and others who don’t care either way.

The big question is, who decides?

From what we can tell, most Clovis-Portales residents have decided they’ll trick or treat tonight, on Oct. 31.

We applaud Clovis and Portales city officials who did not waste much time discussing the pros and cons or voting on resolutions proclaiming one day or another as the preferred option.

Some government entities elsewhere around the country did decide the issue of children traveling door-to-door to ask for Snickers and candy corn apparently requires a certain amount of protocol.

We understand having religious objections to Halloween on a day of worship. At the same time, people should consider the extent to which government already regulates our daily behavior on matters big and small. In the case of All Hallows Eve conflicting with church services, some folks actually ask for even more regulation.

Maybe the character that should worry us the most is not the monster, the ghoul or the vampire but the well-meaning government busybody. They definitely exist, and they don’t come out just on Halloween.